by Kylene Hamulak

 

Food Network Star said good-bye to Danushka last week, and it was not a moment too soon - the next challenge is a team challenge grouping contestants into groups of three, and I'm relatively sure no one wanted to be on Team Danushka.

 

The Challenge - Dinner and Movie

Serving meals to moviegoers with "sophisticated palates", the contestants are teamed up based on one of three themes: Western, Romance, or Musical. They will prepare a full menu, with each chef responsible for one course, and also create a "movie trailer" for their menu.

 

Preparation:

 

Team Musical: Rodney, Chris, Lovely

Lovely isn't so sure about her team - Chris talks too much and gets on her nerves. Ironically, Chris knows that, which just makes him talk more - kill 'em with kindness! They don't have trouble agreeing on a menu until it comes to the dessert - beignet or donut? Donut or beignet? Which is more "musical"? To be honest, I don't think it really matters, but the team is at odds about it, with Lovely feeling donut is in her comfort zone while the guys think the New Orleans vibe of the beignet really suggests "musical." I'm not sure what movie musicals these two have been watching, but, ok, we'll go with that. The actual trailer is done in song, which is actually going well until we get to Rodney - you know, THE MUSICIAN - and you can't understand what the hell he's saying.

 

Team Romance: Viet, Damaris, Chad

Chad is thinking rom-com, Damaris wants a classic love story, so they come up with the idea of "The Dating Game" for their trailer - the guys are the dishes Damaris has to choose between. The words are all very suggestive and a little uncomfortable to listen to, and Damaris has been reprimanded for that approach in the past, so we'll see how that works out for them.

 

Team Western: Stacey, Russell, Nikki

The group seems to get an early start - Nikki volunteers to make a chili starter, and Stacey's s'mores sound like a great dessert. Then Russell suggests "Spaghetti Western" as an entrée, and while he sounds confident when he suggests it, he absolutely can't explain it, not to Nikki and Stacey, nor to us. Their pitch would be great...if only Russell could get the words out of his mouth. After the third time, I want to finish it for him!

 

In the Kitchen

 

Team Musical:

Rodney is super stoked about - FINALLY! - getting to create a real pie for their entrée, with steak and mushrooms and gruyere cheese. Less exciting? Lovely is using premade pizza dough for her donuts.

 

Team Romance:

The most romantic dish Damaris can offer as an entrée is shrimp and grits. Don't worry though - she makes PERFECT grits (according to Damaris). She describes them as "heaven." Meanwhile, Chad is throwing champagne in his chicken wing sauce, because - why not? - champagne makes EVERYTHING romantic. Viet's berries and cream actually sounds amazing, especially with the sparkling fizz cream.

 

Team Western:

Western is a little concerned about Nikki, since she has no experience in a real restaurant kitchen setting. She's a bundle of nerves, and Russell, especially, is trying to keep her focused on getting her veggie chili (with a side of meat!) ready for plating. I think Russell should've focused a little more on figuring out what "Spaghetti Western" actually means in terms of food - apparently it refers to Westerns that were filmed in Italy. So naturally that means he's going to prepare spaghetti with bison, bacon and whiskey. Stacey's gourmet s'more dessert, meanwhile, is something I want in my mouth right this second.

 

 

The Focus Group

 

Team Western:

The "dials of doom" are kind to Team Western, leaning towards the positive for the entire presentation. Nikki, especially, presents very well, and is Bobby's favorite of the three. All the mentors really like the pitch.

 

Team Musical:

What starts out well for Musical goes sour when Rodney is unintelligible in his delivery. Lovely and Chris both have better ratings from the crowd, but Alton notes that he couldn't understand what Rodney was saying.

 

Team Romance:

Oh gosh...Team Romance is hard to watch even in the comfort of my own house. The focus group is uncomfortable, and the dials go negative for most of the delivery. Giada doesn't know what to say about it, while Alton describes it as "50 shades of hot sauce."

 

 

The Food

 

Team Romance:

Chad, Spicy Chicken Wing: The mentors really like Chad's dish, and Alton notes that this is the first time he's shown the ability to do something besides sweet.

 

Damaris, Shrimp and Grits: Despite how much she talked them up, the mentors are disappointed in Damaris's grits, noting that they needed more seasoning.

 

Viet, Berries and Yogurt Cream: Viet's dish gets lackluster reviews too. While not unpleasant, Alton notes that it's not what he expected, and Bobby doesn't think it was very creative.

 

Team Western:

 

Nikki, Shootout Chili: This, Alton says, is the cooking he was waiting to get from Nikki. The mentors seem to really like what she did with the veggies this time.

 

Russell, Spaghetti Western: The mentors aren't impressed with Russell's dish. Giada notes that Russell should know how to make good pasta.

 

Stacey, Campfire S'mores: The mentors like both the execution of the dish and how it fit into the theme. And, side note? I really wish I had this in front of me right now.

 

Team Musical:

 

Chris, Lobster Mac 'n Cheese: Unfortunately, Chris chose flavors that didn't really work well with the lobster, and the mentors do not like it at all.

 

Rodney, Steak & Gruyere Pie: The best thing the mentors can say about Rodney's dish is that "it has the most balance." According to Bobby, the crust isn't even good - and that's rough when you're a pie guy.

 

Lovely, Cinnamon Cardamom Donut: Well...when Bobby can't bite into the donut, you know things aren't going well. It's a tough donut, according to the judges, and Bobby suggests that she should've done something lighter...like a beignet.

 

Evaluation

 

Team Western was well received by both the focus group and the mentors. Alton tells Nikki that her performance in this challenge is what he wants from her all the time. Giada tells Russell that the focus group missed flavor in the pasta, but she did like his performance. Stacey's performance, according to Bobby, wasn't the best, but they all loved her dish.

 

Team Musical got high marks for singing their pitch, though Bobby is disappointed in two things - first, that no one could understand Rodney and second, the Pie Guy has not delivered a great pie yet. Giada calls Lovely out on her donut method, and even though Lovely describes pre-bought pizza dough as "quick and yummy", Giada begs to differ. "Bobby could not even bite into it," she says, before calling it unservable. Chris's mac 'n cheese, she tells him, was overpowering.

Alton warns Team Romance that no one wants to think sleazy when they're thinking about food, and their pitch moved over that line. He thought Damaris's pitch was lovable, but her dish was "serviceable." Which is a far cry from the "heaven" she promised. Bobby commends Chad for balancing out the sweetness in his dish, but can't even comment much on his performance. "I saw that coming," says Chad. Alton tells Viet that his dish was nothing more than berries, and, worse, he doesn't see him growing on camera.

 

Standouts: Team Western wins the challenge with the most orders, so Stacey, Nikki, and Russell are safe.

 

Also Safe:  Chad, Damaris, and Chris are told that, even though they didn't have the best week, they didn't have the worst either. All are safe.

 

Up for Elimination: Rodney, Lovely, and Viet are at risk for elimination, and honestly, that seems about right. The three of them all come with a lot of promise, but none of them has done anything impressive in the competition to this point.

 

The mentors see a lot of potential in Viet, so he is declared safe first. Also showing promise? Rodney - the mentors believe he has a good package to sell, but he needs to balance cooking with entertainment.

 

Lovely, however, hasn't delivered good food. She is eliminated.

 

Catch Food Network Star every Sunday at 9/8c on Food Network!

 

(Image courtesy of The Food Network)

 

Follow Kylene on Twitter @keepingupwithky!